UF Notes: Gators trying to build quality depth on lines

Published: Friday, April 4, 2014 at 09:36 PM.

GAINESVILLE — Florida coach Will Muschamp said Friday the situation on the offensive line is similar to the one on the defensive line: the gap between the starters and the backups is too great.

“We have too much separation between our first group and second group, and that’s on both lines of scrimmage, the offense and defense,” Muschamp said.

Muschamp said another big concern is the ongoing inconsistent shotgun snaps of centers Max Garcia, Trip Thurman and Cameron Dillard.

“I’m extremely concerned about some snapping issues that continue to occur,” he said. “I think the first couple of practices and some newness in there, I can kind of get that. After a while, we’ve got to move past that. But right now we’re repping Max, Trip Thurman and Cam Dillard at center.”

Muschamp said he’s been pleased with the OL starters — D.J. Humphries and Chaz Green at tackle, Trip Thurman and Tyler Moore at guard and Garcia at center.

Now the Gators are trying to find a second group that’s capable of holding its own in the SEC.

A couple moves could be made. Trenton Brown is working more at guard than tackle now, and redshirt freshman defensive lineman Antonio Riles is getting some work at offensive guard.

GAINESVILLE — Florida coach Will Muschamp said Friday the situation on the offensive line is similar to the one on the defensive line: the gap between the starters and the backups is too great.

“We have too much separation between our first group and second group, and that’s on both lines of scrimmage, the offense and defense,” Muschamp said.

Muschamp said another big concern is the ongoing inconsistent shotgun snaps of centers Max Garcia, Trip Thurman and Cameron Dillard.

“I’m extremely concerned about some snapping issues that continue to occur,” he said. “I think the first couple of practices and some newness in there, I can kind of get that. After a while, we’ve got to move past that. But right now we’re repping Max, Trip Thurman and Cam Dillard at center.”

Muschamp said he’s been pleased with the OL starters — D.J. Humphries and Chaz Green at tackle, Trip Thurman and Tyler Moore at guard and Garcia at center.

Now the Gators are trying to find a second group that’s capable of holding its own in the SEC.

A couple moves could be made. Trenton Brown is working more at guard than tackle now, and redshirt freshman defensive lineman Antonio Riles is getting some work at offensive guard.

“Right now, nothing set in stone” with Brown playing guard, Muschamp said. “We’re discussing it as a staff right now. After the scrimmage (today) we’ll kind of look at some different combinations of guys and different looks. Trenton was kind of the guy we talked about a little bit, but we’re not set in stone on that at this time.”

Riles lined up at guard for the first time Friday.

“That’s not a permanent move,” Muschamp said. “That’s something where we wanted to create some depth. I told Antonio he’s a good football player, he’s a great kid and he doesn’t need to be standing by me come fall. We need to get him on the field and give him an opportunity.

“That’s something we’re going to experiment. That’s what I told him. We’re not getting ready for a game right now. This is what spring is for. I thought he did some really good things today just moving around. He’s a big body that is a good athlete, and I think that the guard position would fit very well.”

Mooreplaying in pain: Moore has continued to practice throughout the spring despite dealing with a weak and painful elbow. Moore, the starting right tackle last season, broke the elbow in a scooter accident in November.

“He’s playing through it because it’s important,” Muschamp said. “You’ve got to give the guy a lot of credit. He did no lifting prior to spring with that arm. He’s got a brace inhibiting him in terms of getting his hands on people.

“He will not have to use that in the fall, but we’ve just got to build his strength back. You can see a different strength level with him as opposed to where he was in the fall.”

Surgery for Townsend: Punter Johnny Townsend is out for the remainder of the spring after undergoing wrist surgery.

“He’s going to be fine,” Muschamp said. “It was wear and tear through the years there. I felt like we wanted to go ahead and put a pin in it. He’ll be back in eight weeks, 10 weeks. It shouldn’t affect him at all (for the start of preseason camp in August).”

Townsend won the starting role over former Ray Guy award finalist Kyle Christy last season. The two have been engaged in a tight competition for the starting job this spring. That battle will carry over to preseason camp.

Muschamp said fullback/B-back Gideon Ajagbe does not need shoulder surgery, but will miss the rest of the spring.

Also, safety Keanu Neal (hamstring) has returned in a limited role and offensive guard Rod Johnson (knee) is expected to be cleared to practice Monday, Muschamp said.

Early morning visitors: The Gators got off to an early start Friday, with practice in The Swamp beginning at 5:50 a.m. Muschamp said the players had a good practice and were joined by three former UF players.

“It was great to see, 5:50 this morning, and you wonder why they’re good players — Matt Elam, Jelani Jenkins and Josh Evan, out there running with the football team. That tells you why they’re good players.”

The Gators will scrimmage this morning in The Swamp. It is not open to the public.

“Looking forward to (the coaches) getting off the field, moving the ball, creating some red-zone situations coming out, some different situations,” Muschamp said. “Some one minute, a lot of different looks for our guys to continue to improve and be a good situational team.”

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